Two of this week’s NorCal/SoCal honorees are Jeremy Hemsley from Damien of La Verne and Hailey Pascoe from Clayton Valley of Concord. Photos: Ronnie Flores & Harold Abend.
Just like we did during the football season, we are going to do our best to spread around these honors as much as possible with one boy and one girl chosen from each region. This week’s best are from Oakland, La Verne, Concord and Grand Terrace.
To nominate a player for next week, email markjtennis@gmail.com by Monday at 12 noon and be sure to include a photo that we can use (which means it’s not from the local newspaper or from another web site). Please feel free to call at 209-463-9050 as well both for nominations or to see if your business or small company would like to become a sponsor for this weekly content.
Note: For purposes of this feature, we are considering the CIF Central Section to be in the north.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Paris Austin (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland) Sr.
While everyone knows about Mr. Basketball favorite Ivan Rabb of the Dragons, another big reason they are No. 1 in the state is because of this Boise State-bound senior who set two school records during a 108-77 win last week over Piedmont.
Looking like he was participating in a 3-point shootout, Austin knocked down 12 shots from beyond the 3-point line and finished with 43 points. He set school records for both totals and his 12 3-pointers gets him into the state record book.
The previous school record was 41 points for one game which was set in 1990 by Jasen Powell. Rabb’s career-high is a 40-point game during his sophomore season.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Jeremy Hemsley (Damien, La Verne) Sr.
Earlier this month, Hemsley became the school’s all-time leading scorer when he scored 19 points during a 70-27 win over Upland.
Signed with San Diego State, he had one of the best games of his prep career by scoring 33 points with 11 rebounds and nine assists last week during a 94-78 win over Chino Hills. It was a game that featured Hemsley and the Chino Hills duo of Lonzo Ball and LiAngelo Ball.
With the win, Damien became the clear favorites to capture the Baseline League championship.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Hailey Pascoe (Clayton Valley, Concord) Sr.
Cooking up quite the performance at the Corner Bakery Showdown at Bentley School in Lafayette, Pascoe scored 37 points during a 70-62 win over Castro Valley.
Making herself at home at the free-throw line, she hit 15-of-19 from the charity stripe to help account for those points and show why she has raised her scoring average to nearly 23 ppg this season.
Pascoe, who has signed with Lehigh University, scored 37 and 38 points in other games earlier this season.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Skyler Lewis (Grand Terrace) Sr.
To say this senior is making the most of her high school experience would be an understatement. She plays volleyball, basketball and track while according to the Grand Terrace City News she also has maintained above a 4.0 GPA.
It’s on the basketball court where Lewis will play in college since she signed a letter of intent with UC Riverside.
Earlier this month, she surpassed 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds with a 31-point and 23-rebound performance against Beaumont. Lewis scored 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds during a 59-18 win last week over Colton.
Paul Muyskens is the Stockton office assistant editor for CalHiSports.com. Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
